spoonful of sugar

Saturday, 12 April 2014

And I have been busy. Not necessarily with craft activities, but busy anyway ! Life is good. Kids are enjoying their Easter break and I can finally spend time creating in the evening. No classes preparation, just the small matter of entertaining three children, keeping the house and the ever growing garden tidy, planing the imminent extension and trying to find time to keep fit. So far, so good.

So, here is what I have been doing since I last wrote on the blog.

This page is about our February half term holidays when my Dutch friend Mariska and I decided to spend a week in a caravan in the UK with 5 kids, including a baby!!. It did rain all week, we did have moaning kids and fall outs and stroppy teenagers to deal with, but we had a great time and I would definitely do it again, may be not in February though!!

The next lay out is also about Mariska ! This page is to remember our holidays in La Clusaz, French Alpes. But it is mostly to remind me when I am old, how much fun this amazing lady is.

The third lay out, ( I told you I have been busy!! ) is about Amelie and Violette. My two beautiful daughters. They don't actually get on that well. They tend to annoy each other but when they do, they are very funny to watch and it is a rare opportunity to take a great picture.

And finally, and it is a shame the picture is rubbish, (I will take another one ), the fourth lay out is about Mad March Hair Day, this special day at school when children can have their hair as mad as they dare. It is a really amusing thing to do and children love it, well, actually, Harry isn't that keen, but then again he is a bit funny about his hair! The pictures on that day always come out great and colorful and I have enjoyed making a page every year.

And that's it.

Funnily enough, we have spent some time this afternoon with Amelie looking at old scrapbooks. I forget how much I like looking at them. My style as changed so much over the years. But what I have realised is that as time has become more precious, I might have spend less time making sure that the page is perfect and more time writing the story behind the picture. It is the journalling that keeps the memories and I feel so emotional reading how my life has changed and remembering what the kids have done and said. For all of you reading this, do keep a diary of your life, because it will be such a wonderful present for your children or whoever cares about you. I wish my parents had, may be I would feel I know them and understand them a little better if they had.

On this note, have a wonderful Easter, may the "Giant Bunny" or the "flying Bells" bring you lots of nice treats!!

Thursday, 16 January 2014

but since this is meant to be a crafty blog, I will start with a page I made on new year's eve! ( yes, I know, I am sad but this is what I really wanted to do! )

I enjoyed making the snow flakes with Gesso and glitter glue raided in the kids craft box. I love this picture and making this lay out made me realise how much I miss scrapbooking but I seem to have so little time at the moment. I wonder why that is!. I imagined Violette playing around with my stuff as I was scrapping on the table but the reality is if I am sitting at the table, she wants to be sitting there too, so it doesn't really work. Never mind, I have plenty of pictures in store for our next crop. (Claire this is a not so subtle hint!! )

Anyway, talking about Violette, she was ONE on Monday and after saying that I wouldn't have a birthday party for a one year old, here I was making paper pompoms and indulging my crafty cravings, printing tags and decorating the rooms in coordinated banners and balloons!
In fact, it all started with a cake... A good friend of mine said she knew someone who made amazing cakes and I could order anything I wanted and she would do it. Not being such a cake expert ( but fussy none the less! ) I thought we could may be have a pretty little girl, a book and a dog. ( Violette loves books and dogs. ) (I understand books, I love them too, but dogs... ). Anyway, the cake arrived and... well....it looked good with the caravan!! It wasn't quite what I had had in mind, but I couldn't politely refuse it, ( Yes, and I am French, since when do I bother being polite and mindful of people's feelings!) so I just said... oh, it is awfully nice! And there it was, I had to make up for the lack of taste of the cake with colourful and sophisticated decorations!!. Now, in case the lovely lady who made this cake reads this blog, I appreciate the work that went into making the cake, and it did taste divine, I am just a little fussy!! ( some people would even say very fussy!! )

I think Violette had a wonderful time and I think the other kids had a great time too, although, looking at this picture, I am not so sure!!

She especially enjoyed her cake...

and her balloons...

So to everybody who visited that day and made her birthday so special, thank you. Thank you for all the wonderful gifts, cards and best wishes.

Take care.

PS. weather is too awful to do anything in the caravan at the moment but hopefully we will get some time and dry weather soon.